Wednesday, March 6, 2013

State of Colorado Planning $150M Venture Capital Fund

Anyone who has followed the high tech industry in Colorado over the years knows that--despite a lot of startup activity--there's really only a handful of local investors making investments in startups. However, Colorado Governor John Hickelooper disclosed today at the Venture Capital In The Rockies conference that the state is hoping to change that, by raising its own, $100M to $150M venture capital fund.

Gov. Hickenlooper is tapping into the state's technology leaders to create a fund specifically to invest in only Colorado startups, which is reportedly looking to launch by summer.

There are less than a handful of Colorado venture capital funds now active--Foundry Group and Access Ventures being the most active--with the most activity actually coming from startup accelerator TechStars, which has achieved success pulling in Silicon Valley and other venture capital firms into the region. Other, local investors--such as Highway 12 Ventures, which was a major investor in Colorado although having been based in Idaho--have failed to raise commitments for new funds, as limited partners have shied away from regional venture capital funds, instead turning to only brand name, Silicon Valley funds.

Photo of Colorado's Maroon bells courtesy Bigstock.